The decisions and actions of the Moderators and Administrators are FinalDo not under any circumstances argue with a Mod or Admin. Respect their warnings and actions and leave it at that. Arguing with or questioning a Mod's or Admin's actions can lead to more serious actions up to and including banning. Never insinuate a Mod or Admin is making an idle threat. Admins never threat and we back our Mods to the fullest extent.

Don't Use All Caps or Double Post, and Post Meaningful and Clear Topics and PostsThis is just another courteous thing to do. Don't post a message with all caps, nor a topic. It's considered rude, plus it's a bit more difficult to read. Plus type with proper sentences and punctuation. Topics should clearly state what you need help on. When you're posting a message, we expect you to use punctuation so we can read it. We understand if English is not your first language, but don't try to fool us saying it isn't to get out of a warning. Also make use of the edit button in your post. We frown deeply on double posting here and doing so results in a warning.

Don't Resurrect Old TopicsThis one is important, but is defined by the following:

A topic that is older than 30 days

The exception to this rule would be if you have useful information to add to an old topic, or if a sticky topic points to the thread you're resurrecting.

Don't hijack another's thread with your own work or requests.Posting one image of yours in another's thread for comparison is okay. If you want to post more than that, create your own thread and provide a link to it in the other persons.

No Religious or Political DiscussionsThese kinds of topics tend to be touchy subjects for many individuals and almost always end up in arguing and flame wars which can spread throughout the forum and disrupt the community.

Don't play 'Junior Moderator' We appreciate everyone trying to help out, but let the Moderators and Administrators do their job. Usually if we don't do something about it, there's no need. If you see a questionable post or topic and you feel that it should be reported then just use the 'Report!' feature located at the bottom righthand corner of the offending post, or you could just send us a PM with a description of what's going on and a link to the problem. Never confront another member about their offensive post or topic, please let the Staff handle it.

Be kind to other users and Don't be rude.You all know what's rude and what's not. You're adult enough for that. I mean, I'm guessing the absolute youngest person here couldn't be younger than 11. Even an eleven year old can be nice.

No Forum Games AllowedGames like these drains database resources and bandwidth for something that really does not contribute much to the community.

Avatars must be no bigger than 150 (wide) by 200 (tall) pixelsSelf explanatory. We'll let your first violation slide. If you do it again, you lose your avatar privileges.

Limit the Use of ProfanityWe have word sensors in place, but remember, not all who appear on these forums are adults and parents may not like to have their children exposed to foul language. If the sensor states [Double Warning], it means just that; if seen by an Admin or Mod, you will get a Double Warning. I would highly suggest you edit your post to remove the offending word.

Multiple Member Accounts Are NOT AllowedThere is absolutely no reason to have more than one account. If you want to rename your account, an Admin (except Teancum :P ) can change it if the new one is available. If you are having trouble logging in, have a proxy find out for you why. If you had a second or third warning before, you most likely have been banned for violating the rules after being pointed to them and warned about them several times.

No Signatures or Personalized textNo signatures of ANY kind are allowed on Gametoast and this includes text, smilies, or images. They clutter up the board and make posts longer than they need to be. We know who you are from the name above your avatar so there is no need for signatures. If you insist on reminding others who you are then put it in your avatar or your profile.No personalized text means such things as posting in all bold or blue for example when it is not necessary or just for the sake of doing it, this makes posts more difficult to read.

Don't spamWhat's spamming? Posting pointless messages to up your post count, double posting, resurrecting old topics for no reason, etc. This includes spamming via PM/sending members unwanted messages! We have special ranks that we'll give you if you spam, and you won't like them. Advertising other websites is also spam - we're not talking about a helpful redirect to another site when it's on-topic; that's okay - if you're making topics to promote something non-Gametoast-related or simply using your posts to direct traffic to something off-topic, that's spam and a no-no.

Using resources from another game without permissionIf commercial models or textures have been released to the public (in other words, their source files) then you are safe to convert them to SWBF1/2. If no source files were released you have ZERO permission to use them, and doing so will result in a 30 day ban.

NO PMing members for mod help or requestsWe understand that you get stuck modding, but DO NOT PM members of the community for help. Make a topic in the SWBF2 modding forum, and everyone will contribute what they can to the answer. If we don't know, then we don't know.

And under no circumstances will you EVER PM a member with a requests to make something for you. That's what the request thread is for. Doing so is punishable by a 30 day ban, no questions asked.

Here are examples to show how the rules are used.

Hi, I'm new to the boards [word not allowed] you guys!

This topic would be removed and the person would be warned only once. If he posted another similar topic he would be removed.

In order to enforce these rules we unfortunately have to enforce punishments. We're going to try fairly to keep from using harsh punishments, and the staff is sure that we shouldn't ever have to. Still, we need some order, so below are listed the punishments.

First ViolationOn the first violation, a moderator will either send you a Private Message that will ask you to read the rules, or we'll do the same in the topic that had the violation.

Second ViolationYou will again be asked to read the rules, then you will be placed on the staff's warning list. This list is not visible to users.

Third ViolationYou will be warned in both public and private that your next violation will lead to, well, the fourth violation (read ahead).

Fourth and Last ViolationOn your fourth violation you will be permanently banned.Sometimes we are nice and won't flag you for a violation, only send you a PM. It would be very wise to heed the warning.

Insta-bans

Below are some of the things that will instantly get you banned without an explanation or warning:

Publicly Slandering an Administrator or ModeratorIf you have a beef with an Admin or Mod involved. If it is with one of those, then you seriously need to re-evaluate your netiquette. This also goes for any other medium besides the Forums.

Circumventing Any Type of BanYou were banned for a reason. If you find it erroneous, then contact an Admin with the reason you feel it was a mistake. Good suggestion, be nice about it. Don't burn your bridges. If you made a mistake, apologizing or kindly working out the problem helps a whole lot better than griping or weaseling your way around it.

Logging in Under Another Members AccountIf you feel your account has been breached, notify an Admin before the violator has a chance to get you banned. We have had some occasions where a sibling got a member's account and had a field day.

Knowingly Letting Siblings/Relatives/Pets/Rocks/Alien Beings Use Your AccountYou letting someone willingly use your account is like having them speak for you. Your account is your account, so keep a close watch on it. Again, if you feel your account has been breached, notify an Admin before the violator has a chance to get you banned.

Breaking ANY Rule After a Ban LiftYou were banned for a reason. If you break the rules after we were generous enough to let you back in, then you had no respect for the ban lifter's kindness and you will be removed permanently.

Never, EVER, post anything about glitching/cheating in any games we modHey, if you want to glitch or cheat on your own time, we're not going to stop you. But when you log into Gametoast you're considered a clean and fair player. First offense will result in a permanent ban with no hope of ever returning. This is non-negotiable. Nobody likes online cheaters.

No warez of any kindGo out and buy the game. And if you're dead set on not getting the game for whatever reason, don't be dumb enough to tell us. We realize that piracy has become rather mainstream, but it ain't allowed here.

Courtesy Rules

These are rules that won't end up with a violation flag, but must be followed in order to help with any questions that may come up. The only time a flag will be placed on a member is if these rules are broken continuously and excessively.

When a veteran user directs you to read documentation or tutorials, you should.Even if you don't understand everything, you can come back and explain to us more clearly what you don't understand.

Read the Documentation.Read it first. I know it sucks to read it. We've all felt the pain, but honestly it needs to be done. A lot of things are explained in the docs, and it saves from having unanswered topics.

Be specific if you can.Say, for instance that your trying to add vehicles. You can say "I read the tutorial, and I updated the LUA, but it won't compile!" It helps veterans to know as much as they can about the problem. They can diagnose what's wrong quicker and get you back on track. Sometimes you don't know how to be specific on something. That's okay. Just try to as often as you can. For additional help, see: How To Ask a Question

Be helpful.Come on guys. If someone asks how to do something and you know where to send them to the answer, don't just say "Read the docs", say "read the doc on adding new models -- it explains how to fix your problem" or whatever the case may be.

If a person has trouble with something specific, be sure you ask them specifically what you need to see in order to help.In other words, things like "Post your error log and I'll check to see if there are any errors".

On converting other's community-made workAs you play other games you may find that there are some awesome community made models that would be great in a Gametoast-sponsored game. (for example, there are many excellent, community made Jedi Academy player models that would be great in SWBF1/2) Gametoast's policy is this: Contact the author of that particular piece of content. If you do not receive a response in two weeks, send one last email and wait one week. If you do not hear back with permission from the author then use the content, but credit them in your readme, and be sure to give big thanks. If you cannot find a way to contact the author after a week of searching (emails, forums, sites, etc) then use the content but once again, credit the author with big thanks. Either way if you don't receive a reply mention in your readme that you tried to contact that author.

Please try to use Hide tags with large images.How large? If your image is or exceeds 1024 by 768 pixels, then it would be a good idea to use Hide tags. This will prevent posts from stretching on systems using low resolution/small monitors. Also, when quoting an image, regardless of its dimensions, using Hide tags would also be a good idea.

Please try to use Hide tags with large walls of text.Ideal for LUA, ODF, REQ, and error logs. If the character limit is exceeded in a single post, especially with posting error logs, post it on Pastebin.com, and link it in your post instead. There is absolutely no excuse for making multiple posts in a row!

Nobody will get banned or anything for not following these rules, but following them allows our community to work well with others.

If your posts are informative then I don't think there will be any issues, reply to questions when you know the answers otherwise ask as much as you like and share your ideas but don't push them and accuse others or wrongdoing if they don't agree and you will live well on here at Gametoast.

The staff here at Gametoast really wants to make sure we have the best, most helpful, most productive group of modders around, so please obey these rules, and we feel that we can reach that goal.

The rules here are used as a guideline to keep the site better than the other wannabe star wars gaming/modding sites, most of us are blunt with our views as well but none of us is ever rude to the point it offends someone, at least not intentionally.

When in doubt, PM an Admin or Mod to see if it is okay before you post something that may break the rules.

We will be glad to explain a rule you don't understand clearly. We would much rather explain something than to flag a member for violating the rules.

We reserve the right to add to this list whenever necessary, so check this list often. Just like in the real world, ignorance of the rules is no excuse for breaking them.